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B16fi-1015-12m 

BULLETIN 

OF THE 

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS 



1915: No. 60 



OCTOBER 25 



1915 



Schoolhouse Meeting 

Discussion of 

The Farm Garden 

Prepared by 

E. J. KYLE 

Dean of the Department of Agriculture in the 
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, and 

W. S. TAYLOR 

Associate Professor of Agricultural Education in 
The University of Texas 




Published by the University six times a month and entered as 

second-class mail matter at the postoflfice at 

AUSTIN, TEXAS 



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The benefits of education and of 
useful knowledge, generally diffused 
through a community, are essential 
to the preservation of a free govern- 
ment. 

Sam Houston. 



Cultivated mind is tlie guardian 
genius of democracy. ... It is 
the only dictator that freemen ac- 
knowledge and the only security that 
freemen desire. 

President Mirabeau B. Lamar. 



0. of ^* 
JUL \ ^9'8 



To the Chairman of the Schoolhouse Meeting: 

The discussions of the questions given below have been pre- 
pared for the meeting to be held at the schoolhouse on Friday 
afternoon and are for the use of the person who conducts the 
meeting. Usually it will be best to have the questions written 
upon the blackboard before the meeting opens. When the time 
for discussion arrives, first have the question read aloud and 
then call for discussion from the members present. Occasionally 
the chairman should call out someone whom he knows to be 
well qualified to answer the question. At times it is well to 
let such person know several days in advance that he or she 
will be called upon so that special preparation may be made 
by study of some of the bulletins referred to or of other litera- 
ture. As soon as the discussion has brought out whatever of in- 
terest the members present may know, then have read the discus- 
sion of the quastion that is given below and, if desirable, allow 
discussion of that. Good judgment must be used by the chairman 
in calling out discussion and in stopping it before it becomes 
unprofitable. At times it would be well to omit, or pass lightly 
over, certain questions and concentrate on others. Be sure to 
stop before the members are tired and always try to have the 
ideas that are brought out applied to the local conditions and 
needs. When a meeting results in a desire to carry out some 
practical plan, arrange for those interested in this plan to re- 
main after the meeting and take the necessary steps at once. 
Strike while the iron is hot. 



Fellow Teachers and Fellow Citizens -. 

Groceries are higher than we have ever known them to be be- 
fore. It is therefore more important than ever that we plan to 
raise a large part of our living at home. One of the best and 
least expensive ways of doing this is through the home garden. 
Enduring thrift must begin at home. Too many tin cans and 
paper sacks in the pantry with groce,ry labels on them are the 
surest signs of a lack of true farm prosperity. If the present 
crisis continues, and the prospects are that it will, and we are 
driven through necessity to produce more of our living at home, 
it will in the end be a great blessing to the people of the South! 
It is for us through a higher degree of thrift in the individual 
home to turn the present economic disturbance into the victory 
of a better living more economically produced. 

Many sections of Texas offer exceptional opportunities for 
valuable home gardens. Some vegetables for table use can be 
grown at all seasons of the year. Yet a large per cent of our 
farm homes have either no garden at all or a very poor one 
for only a few months each year. Every farm home in Texas 
should have a garden sufficiently well tended and cared for to 
produce all the vegetables necessary for home consumption. 
With the right combination of intelligence and industry, a con- 
venient, well adapted location for a profitable garden spot can 
be selected and improved on practically every farm in the state. 
The following discussion of your list of questions on the home 
garden has been prepared by the Extension Departments of the 
Agricultural and Mechanical College and the University of 
Texas, working in co-operation. If it is desired to have any 
further questions concerning the garden answered, write to the 
Extension Department of the A. & M. College, College Station, 
Texas, or to the Extension Department of the University of 
Texas, Austin, Texas. It is not intended that the discussions 
given here should be more than mere introductions to the sub- 
ject. But by bringing together the practical experiences of the 
community, by considering the following discussions, and then 
by further study of the bulletins and books that are recommend- 
ed, anyone can soon acquire for himself or herself really expert 
knowledge of the subject. 



6 Bulletin of the University of Texas 

A good garden on each of the farms in Texas would not only 
add tens of millions of dollars annually to the productions of 
the State and help the farmers to hold their staple crops till a 
fair price could be secured for them, but it would give to the 
farmer's family a more attractive and better balanced diet, 
which would greatly improve their health and increase their 
happiness and efficiency. 

Our dry summers and abundant supply of insects certainly 
offer serious obstacles to a garden in Texas, but these can all 
be overcome by intelligent preparation of soil, selection of suit- 
able varieties of plants and of the right time of planting, and 
by the use of insecticides and other methods of protection now 
well understood. This bulletin has been prepared by men who 
have actual experience with Texas conditions, as well as theoreti- 
cal knowledge. We know that what they recommend can be done 
because it has been done successfully by many. Each community 
has its own special problems, but with the general directions here 
given anyone may, with a little intelligence and industry, work 
out a system of gardening for his locality that will succeed. 
Try it. 

A. Caswell Ellis, 
Acting Director, Department of Extension, 
The University of Texas, Austin, Texas. 



QUESTIONS ON THE HOME GARDEN 

1. What are the main points to consider in choosing the loca- 
tion of a garden? 

2. Why do so few people have good home gardens? 

3. What is the commonest cause of garden failure in this 
locality ? 

4. What special local conditions are favorable to good gardens 
in this portion of the State? 

5. How can the rows and the planting of the vegetables in 
the garden be arranged so as to reduce the labor of cultivation? 

6. What preparation should be made before planting? 

7. Make a plan for a spring garden of one-fourth of an acre, 
showing the arrangement of the rows, the time of planting, and 
the arrangement of the varieties planted so as to keep every row 
occupied all the time and the garden producing something for 
the table or for the market every month in the year. 

8. What can be grown in a fall and winter garden, and how 
can it be done? 

9. Is it possible in your community to keep every row of 
the garden busy producing vegetables of some sort all the year? 
How ? 

10. How much could the grocery bill of a family of six be 
reduced during one year by a well kept garden of one-half acre? 

11. Who is the best gardener in your community? 

12. What insect pests will you have to combat? How can 
you overcome them? 

13. How can you keep chickens and have a garden too? 

14. Why are home-grown vegetables preferable to those 
bought on the market? 

15. What is lacking in a diet of meat, bread, and molasses? 
What happens to sailors and explorers when they can get no 
fruit or vegetables for several months? 

16. AVhat diseases are caused by eating steadily a meat and 
bread diet with very few vegetables? 

17. Why is it usually profitable to can and dry some vege- 
tables of the garden? 

18. AVhat is the best method of storing- vegetables, both fresh 
and canned? 

19. How can we get reliable garden seed at reasonable prices? 



ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS 

No. 1. (1) In selecting a place for a garden, first of all the 
plat of ground chosen should not be too large. A small plat 
intensively utilized is much more profitable and more easily 
handled than a larger area not so well worked. (2) The near- 
ness to the well, or other source of water supply is important. 
In the preparation of the hot bed, the ripening of manure, the 
germinating of seed, and the transplanting of tender plants, a 
convenient supply of water is very helpful. If water can be 
had in sufficient quantity for irigating, it is much better, though 
this is not always necessary. (3) It is well to locate the garden 
as near to an available supply of barnyard manure as possible. 
In fact, much depends upon the preparation and care of the com- 
post heap so as to fully rot the manure and set free much of the 
plant food in it before it is applied to the garden soil. (4) 
When choosing a site for a garden, it is well, other things being 
considered, to select the place that will involve the least possible 
expense for fencing. The ordinary light woven-wire netting 
makes the best fence and is not expensive. Without proper 
fencing, depredations from poultry and rabbits will be harmful 
in many instances. W^hen it is impossible to provide a good 
fence, it may be well to place the garden in the field beyond the 
reach of the chickens at the house. In those sections in which 
rabbits are not numerous, many good gardens are raised in this 
way every year. But for the sake of convenience, when practi- 
cable, always put the garden as close to the house as possible. 
(5) Drainage is another important item to consider in choosing 
a garden spot. Never select a low swampy place. Most garden 
vegetables do not thrive in wet, sticky soil. For this reason, 
always select a place that has a gentle slope, or one that lends 
itself well to the construction of a system of drainage; but in 
*^ case should the rows be run directly up and down the slope, 
as this may lead to serious washing in case of heavy rainfall. 

No. 5. (1) The garden on the farm should be so planted and 
arranged as to require a minimum of hand labor. The plat, 
therefore, should bo in the form of a long narrow strip. It 
should be laid out in long rows, far enough apart to permit the 



Discussion of the Farm Garden 9 

use of a horse and plow in tending the crops. (2) Grouping 
together vegetables that are to be cultivated in the same way is 
allso desirable, as it reduces the number of plantings, and each 
row may be tended as one crop. When an entire row of one kind 
of vegetable would be too much, two or three kinds may be 
planted in the same row so long as all the crop in a given row 
requires practically the same kind of tillage and care. Start 
the planting with the earliest vegetables of the season on one side 
of the garden, thus permitting the unplanted portion to be har- 
rowed and kept in a moist and pulverized condition. 

No. 6. (1) Field methods should be practiced in preparing 
the land for planting, and as much of the preliminary work 
should be done in the fall as possible. (2) If the land has been 
manured and plowed in the fall or early winter, very little labor 
is necessary in the preparation of the seed-bed for the spring 
planting. Going over it with the harrow is usually all that is 
necessary. The actual planting of the garden is a simple matter 
where a definite plan has been previously worked out, so that we 
know what vesietables to plant first, where to plant them, and how 
much to plant. (3) The land should be fertilized with well 
rotted manure in the fall. Manure that is well rotted gives 
better results and is less liable than fresh manure to cause the 
crop to "burn" during dry spells. In those sections of the 
State where there is an abundance of rainfall, a minimum of 
twenty loads per acre should be used. In fact, the best gardens 
receive two or three times this much. However, in many places 
where rain is not so plentiful, it is sometimes best not to put more 
than ten loads per acre. Especially is this true if the manure 
has not had time to fully rot in the compost heap before its ap- 
plication to the soil. Where manure cannot be obtained, equal 
parts of cottonseed meal and acid phosphate may be used. Apply 
this mixture at the rate of 400 to 600 pounds per acre. If this 
mixture is not available, apply 400 pounds of cottonseed meal 
in the drill ten days or two weeks before planting. 

No. 7. In the accompanying list are included the vegetables 
commonly grown in Texas, with the arrangement of rows, dis- 
tance between rows, and time of planting. Rows 100 feet long 
are taken as a basis, and except where especially noted, they 
are three feet apart. The planting dates given are for the 



10 Bulletin of the University of Texas 

latitude of Austin. Due allowances must be made for distances 

north and south of this latitude. (The teacher will please draw 

the plan on the board.) 

January 1. — Sow cabbage and kohl-rabi in box or seed-bed. 
Harden off in cold-frame. Transplant about February 20. 

January 15 — Sow tomato seed in hot-bed. To cold-frame Feb- 
ruary 15. To open field as soon as the danger of frost 
is over. 

February 15. — Row No. 1, 1-2 carrots ; 1-3 parsnips ; 1-6 parsley. 
Plant a few early radish seed along the row so as to mark 
it plainly while the slower growing plants are too small to 
be seen easily. 

February 20. — Row No. 2, onion sets with lettuce planted in same 
row. (Onion seed should be planted in the fall, Sept. 25, 
Oct. 5, and transplanted to open field Dec. 1.) 

February 20. — Row No, 3, 1-2 peas, extra early; 1-2 onion sets, 

February 20. — Row No. 4, 1-2 early beets; 1-2 spinach. Mark 
with long radishes. 

February 20. — Row No. 5, 1-2 turnips ; 1-2 mustard. 

February 20. — Rows Nos. 6. 7, and 8, early Irish potatoes. (Fol- 
low all early vegetables with sweet potatoes.) 

March 1-15. — ^Plant a bed of sweet potatoes for "slips." Also 
plant tomatoes, pepper, and egg-plant in box or seed-bed, 

March 1-15. — Rows Nos. 9 and 10, 2-3 cabbage; 2-3 kohl-rabi; 
2-3 cauliflower ; transplanted from seedbed which was started 
February 1st. 

March 1-15. — Row No. 11, early sweet corn. 

March 1-15. — Row No. 12, stringless green pod beans. By plant- 
ing these ''snap" beans about every three weeks one can 
have some for the table till well into the summer. (Follow 
rows 11 and 12 with black-eyed peas.) 

April 1-15. — Row No. 13, tomatoes, 33 plants three feet apart 
in row; transplanted from seed-bed. 

April 1-15. — Row No. 14, string beans, Kentucky Wonder. (This 
variets^ comes in later than the wax beans and will continue 
to thrive on through hot weather that the wax beans will not 
stand.) 

April 1-15. — Row No. 15, 1-2 Lima beans; 1-2 okra. 

March 15-April 1. — Row No. 16, 1-2 pepper ; 1-2 egg-plant ; trans- 
planted from seed-bed. 



Discussion of the Farm Garden 



11 



April 15-30.— Row No. 17, six feet from row No. 16. Cucum- 
bers five feet apart in row. 

April 15-30.— Row No. 18, six feet from row No. 17. 1-2 sum- 
mer squash ; 1-2 winter squasli, six feet apart in row. 

April 15-30.— Row No. 19, six feet from row No. 18. 1-2 wa- 
termelon; 1-2 musk melon. Six feet apart in row. 

April 15-30. — Row No. 20, collards for use in fall and winter. 
Pumpkins and kershaws may be planted in the field outside 
of the regular garden, and should not be omitted. 

PLAN FOR A SPRING GARDEN. 



Row 



1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 



-Carrots 

— Onion Sets 



100 ft. 

P£ 



Tsnips — ^ — Parsley- 
and Lettuce together 



Onion Sets 

Early Beets 

Turnips - 



Extra Early Peas- 

Spinach 

Mustard 



Irish Potatoes 

Irish Potatoes 

Irish Potatoes 

- Cabbage 

Kohl-rabi 



Cauliflower 
Cauliflower - 



Early Sweet Corn 

-Stringless Green Pod Beans- 
Tomatoes 



Kentucky Wonder Beans 



Lima Beans 
— Pepper 



Okra 



Egg Plant 



17 T- 



• Cucumbers- 



IS ^• 



Summer Squash 



Winter Squash 



19 



Watermelons- 



Canteloupe 



20 <l 



Winter Collards 



Figure 1. Plan for a small spring garden of about one-seventh of 
an acre. To increase size of garden, increase length of rows. Fol- 
low all early vegetables with sweet potatoes. If it is desired to 
save seed from them, the watermelons and canteloupes should be 
planted away from the garden, at least a hundred yards distant to 
prevent being mixed with the squash and cucumbers by insects. 
Pumpkins and hershaws should also be planted outside in the field. 



12 Bulletin of the University of Texas 

PLAN FOR AN ALL-YEAR GARDEN. 



1^ Hot Bed Compost 



Asparagus, /^ihts, etc 



-Lettuce ^ Beans >- Okra— 

-Radish ► Beams Pepper 

•Spinach *■ Tomatoes- 



- Mustard ► Corm <- Sweet Potato- 

a -TuRMip " CoRH <- 5weetPotato- 

^ -Carrot—* Lettuce — Cucumber-*- — Fall Potato - 

•^ -Parsnip ^ Peas >- Egg Plant 

<n -Parsley s Salsify Peas- — Cantaloupe Fall Potato- 

o Beets >■ Tomato 

^ Onions ' — Beans 

^ -Cabbage * Potato ■<■ . 

-Cauliflower — > Potato » oquasw 

— KoHL-RABi >- Potato > . 

n D^-^.-^^ ^ Watermelon 

-CoLLARDS * — Potato 



Figure 1. Another garden plan suggested by the University of 
Texas School of Agricultural Education. The rows may be made of 
any length, depending on size of family. When several vegetables are 
printed in a row, it means that these may all succeed each other 
in the same year in the order shown. The squash, watermelons, 
cucumbers and cantaloupes are too close together, if it is intended 
to save seed. When seed are to be saved, these crops should be 
planted a hundred yards or more apart. 

No. 8. Those recommended for planting between February 
15th and March 1st in the above list are suited for winter 
gardening. Begin planting immediately after the fall rains set 
in. August 15th to 30th, plant cabbage and cauliflower seed 
and protect the plants from the sun. Transplant with first fall 
rain Sept. 20-Oct. 30. Plant radishes, beets, lettuce, mustard, 
turnips, spinach, and carrots with first good fall rain during 
the latter part of September or early in October. "Swiss chard 
may be planted at any time of the year and will grow through 
hot summer and cold winter months. It is sowed like beets. 
It may be thinned out to a stand and the leaves cooked like 
spinach or eaten raw like lettuce. The plants may be left in 
the row and the leaves picked off from time to time and the bud 
left to continue growth, or the entire head may be gathered and 
cooked or the tender hearts eaten raw and the tough outer leaves 
cooked. 

Irish potatoes should be planted from the middle of August 
to the first of September. It is advisable to use the small un- 



Discussion of the Farm Garden 33 

marketable tubers left over from the spring crop. These tubers 
should be planted whole and should be deeper and on less of a 
ridge than for spring planting. In order to have potatoes 
germinate readily, it is advisable to have them begin sprouting 
before being placed in the ground. The best way to do this is 
to select a shady place and dig out a trench from four to six 
inches deep and about six feet wide, the length to depend upon 
the number of tubers to be planted. After the trench has been 
completed, the potatoes should be placedvin it about three deep 
and then covered with hay. The liay and potatoes should be 
dampened and kept in that condition until the potatoes begin 
to sprout, after which they are ready for transplanting. While 
in this trench the potatoes should be examined occasionally and 
if it is noticed that they are beginning to rot, the hay should be 
pulled back until the potatoes dry out and the rot is checked. 

A number of our best vegetables can be grown to a greater 
degree of perfection during the fall and winter months than at 
any other season of the year. This is true in case of such vege- 
tables as eaulitlowei'. spinach, cabbage and lettuce. 

When making preparations for planting a fall garden one 
should realize at the beginning that the weather conditions are 
not so certain as during the spring months. The fall opens up 
as a rule after a long summer drouth, so that it is impossible to 
do much planting except where plants are started in cold frames 
where they can be protected from the sun and given plenty of 
water, before the fall rains begin. It is a mistake, generally 
speaking, to plant any vegetable crops, except potatoes, in the 
open garden during August, even when there are good rains, 
because a drouth is almost certain to follow during September, 
when the young tender plants will practically all be destroyed. 
The ideal time for planting in the open garden is during the 
latter part of September. If there is not sufficient moisture in 
the soil at that time, the planting will have to be delayed until 
the first sood rain. 



14 



Bidletin of the University of Texas 



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5 PLUM TREES 2o feet apart ] 

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6 PEACM TREE5 ZO FEET APART ) 



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3 PEAR AND 5 PEACM TREE5 20 feet apart 



COMPOST HtflP 
6' « IcS' 



HOT BED 
6' « I8' 



COLD FRAME 
6' X \8' 



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5 FIG TREES 20 FEET APART 



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C-FEB —ASPARAGUS — 35-PLnNT5- — t>EC-FEB t>EC- FEB DEWBERRIES- 14— VINES — 

PT FEB- -STRAWBERRIES- 48- PLANTS — SEPT- MARCH- 2/1- SHRLLOTS- loz- 3/1 — 2/l5 -SAGE' loz - 3/15- 
- , S-TOMATOES-Ioz -2/5 - I/I0-EGG-PLRNT-IO2-2/5- 2/Z5- OKRA- 2o2 - 3/2S- l/IO- SWEET- PEPPERS - 

i; 2/2S SWEET- POTATOES 160 -SLIPS 

S" 2/25 CUCUMBERS-loz-a'20-l/IO-CAULIFLOWER-TOZ— 2/5-I/25-TURNIP5-I02-2/25 l/25-RUTABBGn-loz-2/2S 

-f 1/10 - CnBBRGE-2oj- 2/5 - 1/25- RRDlSHES-2oz- 2/25- l/25-LETTUCE- I oi- 2/25- 1/25- 5PINRCH- lo2- 2/25 

2/25-SNflP BEANS-r pint 3/20— 1/25- ENGLISH- PEAS -I pint 2/25 

2/5 -EARLY- CORN- I -PINT- 3/5 1/25 -BEETS -2 oz— 2/25 IO/l5-ON10NS-2oz l/IO 

-2/1 POTATOES")^-- ——- 



— DEC FEB 
2/15 - MINT- loz!, 

loz- 2/3 

3/20 

-SQUnSM -207-3/20 



2/25— CANTALOUPES - I oz Z/20- 



2/25- 



- Watermelons — I oz 5/^o 



Figure 2. The above plan is prepared and recommended by the 
Horticultural Department of the Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege of Texas, College Station, Texas, which department is also 
responsible for the following statements and recommendation of 
varieties: 

"The garden is planted to supplj' six persons. The first date shown 
in the plan indicates the planting date for that vegetable- in South 
Texas; the second date shown is for North Texas. 

"This garden, well cared for, and the surplus products canned, 
will be worth the yield from ten acres of cotton. 

"Start all tender plants in hot bed, transplant to cold frame 
and move to field after danger of frost is past. 

"For a succession crops plant the seed at intervals of eight to 
twelve days. 

"Prepare the land well. Fresh stable manure should be put on 
in the fall. 

"Twenty-four inches of manure in the hot bed will give heat for 
sixty days. 

"Do not plant cucumbers and canteloupes close together. 

"Do not let insects get a start." 

The following varieties are recommended: 



Discussion of the Farm Garden 15 

GOOD VARIETIES. 

Plums: Abundance, Excelsior, Gonzales. 

Peaches: South Texas: Waldo, Thurber; North Texas: Dewey, 
Slappy, Elberta. 

Pears: Kieffer, Le Conte. 

Figs: Brown Marseilles, Magnolia. 

Grapes: South Texas: President, Lukfata; North Texas: W. B. 
Munson, Concord, 

Blackberries: Dallas, McDonald, Spalding. 

Dewberries: Haupt, Austin, Mays, Rogers. 

Asparagus: Argenteuil, Conover's Colossal, Palmetto. 

Strawberries: Klondike, Lady Thompson, Michaels Early. 

Cucumbers: White Spine, Evergreen, Early Cluster. 

Cauliflower: Snowball. 

Spinach: New Zealand, Argon. 

Squash: Crook Neck, White Bush. 

Cabbage: Early Jersey Wakefield, Succession. 

Radishes: Scarlet Turnip, French Breakfast, Long Scarlet. 

Lettuce: Big Boston, California Cream Butter, Hubbard Market. 

Beans: Stringless Green Pod, Early Valentine, Hodson Wax. 

Peas: Alaskan, Telephone, Champion of England. 

Early Corn: Adams Early, Country Gentleman, Yexo. 

Beets: Egyptian, Eclipse, Crimson Globe. 

Onions: South Texas: Crystal Wax, White Bermuda; North 
Texas: Prizetaker, White Globe. 

Tomatoes: Earliana, Acme; Livingstone, Globe. 

Eggplant: Black Beauty, New York Spineless. 

Okra: Dwarf Prolific, Long Green. 

Sweet Pepper: Chinese Giant, Bell, Ruby King. 

Sweet Potatoes: Dooley Yam, Yancey Yam. 

Irish Potatoes: Bliss Triumph, Irish Cobbler, Rural New Yorker. 

Cantaloupes: Rocky Ford, Eden Gem, Netted Rock. 

Watermelons: Watson, Means, Halbert Honey. 

No. 10. Five cents worth of lettuce seed will keep a family 
supplied with this one luxury a whole season when planted in 
the home garden. Lettuce is a luxury when purchased at five 
cents or ten cents a head, and it is usually in much poorer condi- 
tion than when used directly from the garden. The same can be 
said of endive, parsley, carrots, radishes, mustard, chard, turnips, 
beets, okra, spinach, beans, peas, tomatoes, peppers, egg-plants. 
melons, cucumbers, squash, and pumpkins. Sweet potatoes 
from the garden have a finer flavor and cost less than 
those taken from a tin can. It takes, at thirty cents per peck, 
just five cents worth of sweet potatoes to fill a No. 3 can. A 
No. 3 can of sweet potatoes weighs on an average thirty ounces, 
and costs fifteen cents at the grocery store. The difference of 
ten cents is a big price to pay for the cooking and canning of less 
than two pounds of potatoes. One quarter of a pound of dry 
beans will make as much as is contained in a No. 2 can. As a 



16 Bulletin of ihe University of Texas 

rule, the amount of beans in a ten cent can is worth less than 
two cents in the raw state. When but little or no extra fuel is 
needed for their preparation, it is much cheaper to prepare them 
at home. It is hard to estimate the value of a small, well tended 
garden to the family living:. One-fourth of an acre of land well 
cared for can easily be made to produce $100 w'orth of vegetables 
for table use during the year. These vegetables, or their equiva- 
lent, if bought in cans at the market, would likely cost more than 
twice that amount. 

It will often be profitable to have the garden spot contain as 
much as an acre of ground. With this, considerable patches of 
Irish and sweet potatoes, dewberries, blackberries, and possibly 
a bed of strawberries may be included. Potatoes are not so per- 
ishable as the more succulent vegetables, and berries are easily 
canned, while both of them have rich food and tonic qualities. 

The mere food value of a garden does not measure its real 
worth. Many a doctor's bill would be saved and many a bottle 
of patent medicine would not be purchased if people would only 
use vegetables more freely. There is no need of taking iron in 
the form of medicine when it is furnished by a number of vege- 
tables such as greens, spinach, lettuce, peas, and beans. Most 
vegetables are largely water, but the solid part furnishes the body 
the needed minerals, lime, .sodium, potash, phosphorus, sulphur, 
and iron, without w^hich good health and mental vigor are im- 
possible. Furthermore, human beings need roughage to keep 
their bowels active and healthy. 

No. 12. There are a number of insect enemies of garden 
crops. Space will not allow an exhaustive discussion of these 
pests. The principle thing to observe about them is their habits 
of taking food. If they chew or bite their food, as is the case 
with the potato bug, they can generally be controlled by spray- 
ing with arsenate of lead, which is used at the rate of two and 
one-half pounds to fifty gallons of water. If the insects suck 
their food, as is the case with the plant louse, then you should 
spray with whale oil soap at the rate of one pound to five or six 
gallons of water. The correct method of using the various 
poisons and of otherwise protecting the plants can be learned 
from free Farmers' Bulletins and by writing to State Entomolo- 
gist, College Station, Texas, or the State Department of Agri- 
culture, Austin, Texas. 



Discussion of the Farm Garden 17 

No. 15. A diet of meat, bread, and molasses fails in two 
respects, (1) it does not give sufficient bulk to stimulate intes- 
tinal movement. (2) It docs not supply the body with the 
mineral salts which are needed for building purposes in the 
growing child and to keep the blood of people of all ages in the 
proper condition for health. The diet is lacking in fresh fruit 
and green vegetables. 

"When sailors and explorers have no fresh fruits or green veg- 
etables for a long time, eczema, purpura, bleeding from the gums, 
and even scurvy are liable to result. The diet without fruits 
or vegetables does not supply the materials needed to keep the 
body in a healthful condition. 

No. 16. A diet of meat and bread with a few vegetables is 
liable to produce constipation, headaches, so-called "billious- 
ness."' rheumatism, kidney disease, hardening of the arteries, 
and certain other chronic diseases that come on too gradually to 
be noticed until it is too late to remedy them. 

No. 17. The garden does not at all seasons of the year furnish 
a "complete variety. For this reason, it is wise to can, dry, and 
preserve vegetables at other seasons. It is profitable to can 
such vegetables as tomatoes, string beans, okra, sweet potatoes, 
beets, blackberries, and dewberries. Okra may be dried, and 
is valuable to use in soups and with other vegetables. Even 
though some corn, beans, and okra are canned, it gives greater 
variety to the food supply to dry some of these also. By the 
drying process, the pumpkin may also be cured and put by for 
future use. 

(For further information on canning fruit and vegetables, 
write Miss Bernice Carter, State Agent, Girls' Canning Club 
AYork, A. and M. College, College Station, Texas.) 

No. 18. The most satisfactory and economical way of pre- 
serving roots, tubers, and cabbage, is to put them into a dark, 
cool place where it is just moist enough to keep them from 
drying out. A basement or storm cellar makes a good place for 
winter storage. Beets, turnips, carrots, and potatoes, if care- 
fully handled so as not to bruise them, may be piled in heaps in 
a well drained place in the yard and wrapped in hay or corn 
stalks and then covered with earth to a depth of three or four 
inches and kept satisfactorily if ventilation is provided. When 



18 Bulletin of the University of Texas 

this method of winter storing is practiced, it is necessary that 
the sides of the covering bank of earth be sufficiently steep to 
drain well. Also, be careful to ditch so that water will not run 
in at the bottom. Place a small ventilating flue at the top, and 
make a small opening for ventilation at the bottom on the south 
side. Be sure to keep the openings closed during rains and freez- 
ing weather. Do not store vegetables in soil that is mixed with 
manure, as this is almost sure to cause them to spoil. 

Canned fruit and vegetables will keep best when stored in cool 
dark places. 

For fuller information on the home garden, consult the fol- 
lowing bulletins, which will be sent free of charge by their re- 
spective publishers upon request : 

A Garden Bulletin, by W. S. Taylor and C. H. Winkler, 
Farmers' Industrial Congress, Dallas, Texas; or The University 
of Texas, Austin, Texas. 

Money Crops Instead of Cotton, A. and M. College, College 
Station, Texas. 

The Cold Pack Canning Method, International Harvester Co., 
Harvester Bldg., Chicago, 111. 

Bulletins of the United States Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C. 

The Home Garden in the South .... Farmers ' Bulletin No. 647 

The Farmers' Home Garden Farmers' Bulletin No. 122 

The Farmers' Home Garden Farmers' Bulletin No. 149 

The Home Vegetable Garden Farmers ' Bulletin No. 225 

Vegetable Growing in Alabama, Cir- 
cular 1912 Farmers' Bulletin No. 14 

The following may be had from the Superintendent of Public 
Documents, Washington, D. C, price 5c each: 

Beans Bulletin No. 289 

Cabbage Bulletin No. 433 

Tomatoes Bulletin No. 220 

Asparagus Bulletin No. 61 

Onions Bulletin No. 354 

Okra Bulletin No. 232 

Sweet Potatoes Bulletin No. 324 

Preparation of Vegetables for the Table Bulletin No. 256 

Children's Garden for School and Home, by L. K. Miller, 
published by D. Appleton & Co., New York ; pp. 235, price $1.20. 



REPORT OF SCHOOLHOUSE MEETING 

( Send this report, immediately after the meeting, to A. Caswell 
Ellis, Director of Extension, the University of Texas, Austin, 
Texas, and the programs and questions for the following meeting 
will be sent to you by return mail. Nothing further will be sent 
until the report is received.) 

1. Name of school, County 

2. Principal of School, 

3. Postoffice Address of Principal, 

4. Name of Chairman of Meeting, 

5. Postoffice Address of Chairman of Meeting, 

6. Name of Secretary of Meeting, 

7. Postoffice Address of Secretary of Meeting, 

8. Date of Meeting, 

9. Subject of Discussion, „ 

10. Number present : Women Men 

11. Probable number that will attend next meeting, 

12. Comments and Suggestions: (Was there much discus- 
sion? Was the meeting helpful? Will any practical movement 
or organization come from it ? Do any Avish to study the matter 
further? Can we help in any way?) 



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